Calvary (c. 1503–04): Artwork and History

Calvary (c. 1503–04) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Albrecht Dürer German, 1471-1528.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

Albrecht Dürer described this deceptively simple image of Jesus Christ’s Crucifixion as one of his “schlechtes Holzwerk,” his “plain” or “homely woodcuts.” Yet the number of figures represented, the receding landscape, and the pathos embodied by the swooning Virgin Mary and the kneeling Mary Magdalene exceed the artist’s own modest assessment of the work. In comparison with earlier woodcuts, especially the quickly produced book illustrations undertaken in Wolgemut’s workshop, the woodblock must have been cut particularly closely to the artist’s own design. While busier than Dürer’s monumental Passion woodcuts from the same period, this moving woodcut hints at the artist’s past and future.

Object facts

• Title: Calvary
• Date: c. 1503–04
• Artist attribution: Albrecht Dürer German, 1471-1528
• Place of origin: Germany
• Medium: Woodcut in black on ivory laid paper
• Dimensions: 21.9 × 15 cm (8 5/8 × 5 15/16 in.)
• Type: Print
• Department: Prints and Drawings
• Reference number: 1959.527

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. C. Phillip Miller

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The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.